Are Mutual Banks More Virtuous? The Case for Tax Fraud and Money Laundering

Mutual banks have incorporated a relatively simple principle in their creation: coming together natural and legal persons who together guarantee the loans granted individually to members. But in the 1980-1990s, they decided to strongly expand and diversify their activities until becoming large universal and international banking groups, thus singling out the conventional banks and sometimes forgetting their primary missions and their purpose. However, they continue to invest in locally responsible projects. Also, the values and the mode of governance of the mutual banks should in principle make them more virtuous. What is it really about the very current problem of tax evasion and money laundering? The article explains how mutualist values and governance are supposed to guarantee responsible behavior in the face of the current problem of tax evasion and money laundering. It studies the place and behavior of mutual banks in financial and tax criminal practices.